Safety of women journalists
In the past decade, awareness that women in the media are subject to gender-based violence has grown as a number of ground-breaking reports have been published, establishing that violence and threats against women journalists have reached endemic proportions.
Three out of four women journalists have now been subject to online violence, and the killings of women journalists have increased at an unprecedented speed. Along with this awareness has come a greater understanding that these threats pose a serious challenge to media freedom and development.
Addressing the safety of women journalists is not only a matter of protecting individuals but also a means of safeguarding democratic values, human rights and the richness of media representation. It is essential for fostering an environment where all journalists can work freely, contribute to informed public discourse and play a vital role in shaping the societies they serve.
This learning brief features a review of the threats to the safety of women journalists and offers recommendations for media development organisations to address these issues.
Safety of women journalists is the first learning brief in the series Intersectional Feminist Media Development. Read the next entry in the series, Online gendered disinformation and sexist hate speech, here.
